Maria “Mary” Gristina, age 90, of Tappan, passed away peacefully at home on Thursday, April 16, 2020. She was born June 21, 1929 in New York, the first of the five children of Piero and Rosa LoBello. Mary was raised and lived in a small town Sciara, Italy where she met and married her beloved husband Giuseppe Gristina. After their wedding, Mary and Giuseppe moved to New York where they started their family and life together.
Mary is survived by her loving husband of 70 years Giuseppe “Joseph” Gristina. She was wonderfully devoted to her two children the late Ross Gristina and his wife Josephine and her daughter Phyllis Battaglia and her late husband Ignazio (Sal).
Mary was a loving Grandmother to Michael and his wife Karolina, Maria Villani and her husband Michael, Danielle Ferraioli and her husband James, and grandson Joseph Gristina. She is also survived by four great-grandchildren, Julianna, Luca, Margaux, and Leo.
The family expresses appreciation to all who comforted and cared for Mary in her last years, Antonia Vene and Orfie her devoted caregivers and Mindy Greene Bonodona her compassionate nurse. Thank you to Mary’s loving sister Josephine Woodley and her husband James, her brother-in-law Dominick Gristina and his wife Josephine and her brother-in-law Piero Scatena husband of her late sister Rose. She is also predeceased by her beloved brothers John LoBello and Dominick LoBello.
Mary was a parishioner of St. Catharine’s RC Church in Blauvelt, New York. She was a devout Roman Catholic who cherished family get-togethers. She enjoyed traveling, cooking, sewing, and shopping.
A Memorial Mass will be celebrated at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at stjude.org.
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